


Chasing Shadows

by Silverskye13



Series: The Stairs to the Core (Grillster Stories) [11]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Kinda, M/M, Nightmares, Sleep, Sleep Paralysis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 15:38:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13238820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverskye13/pseuds/Silverskye13
Summary: Sleep paralysis is a pain in the pinfeathers. There are of course, worse things that can happen when your body decides to stop working, and Gaster is sure this episode is a tame one among others. But regardless, it's an experience worth remembering.





	Chasing Shadows

At first Gaster didn’t realize he was awake. He was too groggy. He registered he was warm, snuggled in blankets and not at his desk like he remembered he’d been earlier. Instead of a cold, stiff chair beneath him, he felt the soft down of a bed. Instead of the rails of the back of a chair, there was a firm warmth at his side.

 _Ah right_ , _Grillby_.

The elemental had been staying the night at his place for the past couple of days while Fuku was gone at school. Grillby was prone to nightmares, and a deep enough sleeper that at times the smoke alarm didn’t wake him up when his dreams got a little more intense than normal. Gaster had convinced the stubborn elemental to stay the night at his place in Hotlands for the first few weeks, just to help him get adjusted.

Grillby must have carried the skeleton up to bed after he’d fallen asleep at his desk downstairs. And now here they were, snuggled and warm in bed. That was adorable. Adorable and comforting enough that Gaster almost managed to slip back into sleep again. But a weight on his mind said something was _off_ , and in a moment Gaster realized why.

 _There was someone in the room with them_.

The realization hit Gaster like a boot to the chest, and he felt his soul quiver with a trill of fear. He could _see_ them. There, in the open doorway, silhouetted by a light left on in the hall. Gaster couldn’t make out their features rightly. They were a shadow, nearly as tall as the ceiling, hovering _just_ in his peripheral vision. Standing unnaturally still, made of stone or smoke or shadow itself, _watching_.

He couldn’t see it’s eyes, but he _knew_.

Gaster moved to sit up, conjure some magic _something_ \-- but nothing happened. _Nothing happened?_ Nothing… happened. He moved his arm -- except he didn’t. He _couldn’t_. Nothing was working, nothing was _moving_. Not a spark of magic not a tremor in a limb. He could feel his ribcage moving as he breathed. He could feel the panic swelling in his soul and the shiver it sent through his waking mind. But every syllable he tried to speak, every movement to sit or to wake Grillby sleeping unaware at his side -- _nothing moved_. He was paralyzed.

 _Paralyzed_.

His fear abated nearly as quickly as it had broken across him. If he were capable of sighing with relief, he would have.

The figure blinked.

Sleep Paralysis. That’s what this was. He’d read about this before, mostly in random human texts that washed into the dump, but occasionally from monsters who’d suffered through it before. He’d always thought it sound interesting, surreal and intimidating. He found a new respect now for the monsters who dealt with it on a regular basis. This was horrific to say the least.

 _That thing was still staring at him_ , and now that Gaster watched it the thing seemed to be swaying back and forth just barely. _Alive_ almost. If the skeleton could sigh, he would have. To shake and steel himself. It was just his imagination, he thought as steadily as he could manage. It’s just your imagination, there’s nothing really there.

He wanted to close his eyes and ignore it, force the lights in his sockets out so he couldn’t see that thing swaying softly in the corner. But he couldn’t. He was stuck like this, snuggled up into Grillby’s arms, the blankets pulled up to his chin, unable to move or dispel the thing standing at the door.

Gaster tried to distract himself. He tried to focus on his breathing. He willed himself to wiggle his toes, or twitch some fingers. To do something to wake up his stubborn, sleeping body. Everything was ignoring him. He could scream at himself to move in his head and not even the slightest shiver would make its way to his limbs. Not a breath stirred out of rhythm. _Nothing_. How long was he going to be stuck like this?

 _The swaying thing still watched him_. _It seemed bigger_.

At length Gaster managed to ignore the creature standing by the doorway. Managed to stifle down the paranoia in his chest that insisted he was in trouble but wasn’t persistent enough to rise him to full wakefulness. He pretended the thing was a shadow and tried to fall back to sleep, to will the awakeness away like a bad dream. He tried to focus on the ceiling, and on the warmth of Grillby close beside him. The elemental slept so soundly tonight, tonight of _all_ nights to not shift and wake up and wake the skeleton with him. His flames turned in a steady shift of oranges and cool reds, he breathed steady and quiet. His expression was one of peace, of a dreamless sleep.

Movement caught the corner of Gaster’s eye, and the skeleton’s attention flicked back to the shadowy figure that stood in the corner. He watched it _turn_ , _slowly_. A smooth and deliberate motion, as if it _wanted_ Gaster’s attention. As it turned to face the open doorway, no features changed. As if the creature were made of only smooth black smoke and nothing more. It walked one step, two, moving intentionally and painstakingly. Gloating about it’s freedom.

 _Not gloating_ , Gaster thought shakily, _because it isn’t real_.

As if it heard him the creature froze and turned to face him again. An eyeless face, a smooth shadow of a head, a void of a figure, all turned and leaning just slightly in his direction. It reached a hand out toward the open door, looking fuzzy and shuddering just slightly in the far of Gaster’s peripheral vision. There was a pause where a distinctly clawed hand rested on the doorframe, and Gaster felt himself panicking inwardly through his breathing stayed steady, shuddering only slightly with his alarm. If he had a beating heart in his chest he knew it’d be knocking against his ribs.

 _It’s not real_ , Gaster thought desperately, _calm down it’s not real_.

Gaster didn’t know an eyeless creature could narrow it’s eyes at him, but he _sensed_ it did. And with a flick of it’s wrist the door slammed shut with a _bang!_

And Grillby’s alarm went off.

Gaster jolted upright, gasping out a strangled sound as he did. Light was streaming in the room, the shadows hovering in their respective blue-tinted corners. The bedroom door was open wide, just as it had been before the _thing_ slammed it shut. Grillby’s alarm was playing a rhythmic tune that got slowly louder.

“Gaster?”

Grillby was sitting up in bed now, tired concern filtering through the colors of his flames, “What’s wrong?”

Gaster shook his head before nervously looking back towards the door again. There was nothing there of course. _It had just been his imagination_. Regardless though, the shadows in the room seemed darker... more insidious than when he'd first fallen asleep.

“Nothing,” Gaster finally answered, “Just a dream I guess…”

**Author's Note:**

> Soooooo... Happy New Year! Let's kick off the year right with a One-shot!
> 
> A couple nights ago I had my first run in ever with a fit of sleep paralysis, and this basically sums up the entire experience. It's definitely something I never want to experience again. I recognize I;m a way too easily paranoid person for this sort of thing to not have an impact on me. Already I jump at shadows in the house a little bit easier ahaha :'D There is really no good way to handle being stared down by a 9ft tall shadow monster while your body refuses to move.
> 
> Anyway! I recognize this isn't one of my better ones, but I kinda wanted to get the idea out before it died in the back of my head somewhere. Thanks for reading!


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